Research on the Specificity of Electrophysiological Signals of Human Acupoints Based on the 90-Day Simulated Weightlessness Experiment on the Ground
Wang Y, Fan Z, Wang M, Liu J, Xu S, Lu Z, Wang H, Song Y, Wang Y, Qu L, Li Y, Cai X · IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering · 2021
DOI 10.1109/TNSRE.2021.3120756
Objective
To investigate the disease specificity of electrophysiological signals at acupoints associated with cardiovascular and sleep functions during head-down bed rest and recovery.
Conclusions
The study shows that electrophysiological signals at acupoints are disease-specific, with GV20 reflecting sleep function and the other examined acupoints reflecting cardiovascular function, and more accurately indicate changes in physiological homeostasis than sham points.
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Insights
Electrical signals at selected acupuncture points changed with sleep and cardiovascular disruption, suggesting they may reflect specific physiological functions more sensitively than nearby sham locations.
Five volunteers underwent prolonged head-down bed rest across several monitoring periods. Researchers recorded electrical activity from four named acupuncture points and corresponding nearby sham points, while also assessing sleep quality, blood pressure, and heart function using ultrasound imaging. They compared signal power and characteristic amplitude before, during, and after bed rest to examine whether point-specific electrical patterns tracked physiological changes.
Under normal conditions, the acupuncture points showed stronger electrical signals than sham points. Head-down bed rest reduced signal power and characteristic amplitude more markedly at acupuncture points, narrowing their distinction from sham locations. During recovery, most acupuncture-point signals remained altered, while the point located at the top of the head showed a pattern associated with sleep function and the other points were associated with cardiovascular function.
